


Let them Talk

by LiaoftheDawn



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Bullying, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Homophobia, Love Confessions, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-06
Updated: 2015-10-06
Packaged: 2018-04-25 05:09:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4947925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiaoftheDawn/pseuds/LiaoftheDawn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Midorima Shintarou was everything Kazunari expected him to be: serious, arrogant, painfully full of himself, a pain in the ass to play with, pretty much insufferable all around, yet annoyingly skilled. And he was also everything Takao had never expected him to be: awkward and shy, easily flustered, he had this weird speech pattern, obsessed with horoscopes and the power of lucky items, extremely fuzzy about hygiene and propriety, and he took more care of his hands than any girl Kazunari had ever met.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Let them Talk

Kazunari's first day at Shuutoku High School was one he'd never forget. It was the day he'd joined the Shuutoku Basketball Team –the team he would come to love as if it were his own family- and also the day he'd first found himself on the same side of the court as Midorima Shintarou. He'd recognized that green-haired giant instantly as one of the Teikou monsters he'd sworn to defeat. And yet, by some wicked twist of fate, here he was, a part of his new team. Kazunari always believed that if life gave you lemons, you ought to make lemonade, end of the story. If life gave him a Teikou monster, he'd take advantage of that to try and defeat the others. It was not his ideal scenario, but he couldn't deny that having such a powerful ally was slightly encouraging.

Midorima Shintarou was everything Kazunari expected him to be: serious, arrogant, painfully full of himself, a pain in the ass to play with, pretty much insufferable all around, yet annoyingly skilled. As if his ridiculous three-pointers weren't enough, his overall game stats were very high, he moved quickly and precisely, he never got tired, and he handled the ball as if he'd been born doing it. Geniuses really have it easy, he'd thought mournfully as he watched the guy sinking another three.

"Hey, Midorima, won't you share your secret? How come you never miss a shot?" he'd asked one day, although he wasn't really expecting an answer.

Midorima had looked at him in confusion and reached inside his pocket. "There is no secret. I just do everything I have to do to ensure my shots won't miss. I practice every day, follow Oha-Asa's advice and carry my lucky item with me at all times. In fact, there is no way my shots will miss."

As expected, Midorima had served him a standard "work hard and follow your horoscopes" non-ans—wait what?

"Huh? Oha-Asa? Lucky item? What's that about?"

Midorima rolled his eyes and pulled out an object from his pocket. Takao observed it with curiosity. It was a small keychain with the shape of a pink sparkly wand with a golden star on top. He remembered seeing it in one of the magical girl shows his sister liked.

"Even if my luck for the day is bad, so long as I carry my lucky item, my shots will never miss."

"So… this is your lucky item for today, huh?"

Midorima nodded, his expression so serious anyone would've thought he was discussing some life-or-death matter. Takao could no longer hold back the laughter.

"Haha, I see, haha, your lucky item huh? What… what was your first name again?"

Midorima tucked his lucky item away and stared at him in bewilderment, as if unsure about revealing his personal information to a guy who was laughing at him.

"Shintarou." He said nevertheless.

Takao swallowed the last chuckles and smiled, looking up to meet those uncertain emerald eyes. "Shintarou huh? Then… yeah, Shin-chan! Shin-chan it is!" he tried the name a couple of times, loving how it rolled off his tongue, and especially how it made Shin-chan cringe and how the vein on his forehead popped and throbbed.

"Stop that, don't call me that ridiculous name!"

Kazunari laughed again.

* * *

 

Shin-chan was everything Takao had never expected him to be: he was awkward and shy, easily flustered, he had this weird speech pattern, he believed in horoscopes and the power of lucky items as if his life depended on it, he was extremely fuzzy about hygiene and propriety, and took more care of his hands than any girl Kazunari had ever met. Even if he was gifted, a genius, he never slacked off in practice and was in fact the last one to leave the gym every day. He always stayed one or two extra hours practicing his shots until his shoulders couldn't move anymore.

Without realizing it, Kazunari found he couldn't keep his eyes away from him. And without realizing it, he found himself wishing that insufferable, hard-working, eccentric three-point machine would acknowledge him as a teammate. He started staying extra hours to watch him practice and get some extra drills of his own, trying to tune his moves to Midorima's. If Shin-chan was going to become the team's ace, Kazunari wanted to become the best assist he possibly could. When he was chosen as a starter on the team, he was overjoyed.

"Seems like we're gonna be teammates from now on." He'd told Shin-chan after the announcement was made.

Shin-chan frowned at him. "Fool, we were already teammates to begin with."

Kazunari grinned and followed him to the bicycle parking lot. Much to his surprise, he saw him walk towards a wooden rickshaw he'd chained to a metal pole.

"Uhh, Shin-chan? What's that?"

Shin-chan pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose with his middle finger haughtily. "My lucky item for today, obviously."

"Yeah, obviously, how stupid of me to ask."

Shin-chan ignored his sarcasm. "I used all of my three selfish requests of the day to get permission to bring it into the premises. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to carry it closer to the classroom or the gym, so my luck was not as good as usual today." He added, to no one in particular.

Takao had to hold in the urge to laugh. "And how'd you bring it all the way here?"

Shin-chan finished undoing the chains and pointed at the back of the rickshaw. "I pushed it." He said simply.

Takao's eyes widened. "What?! Are you kidding me?! You pushed that thing all the way here?! Why didn't you pull it with a bicycle or something?" he wasn't even going to question Midorima's decision to bring it over, in these short three weeks he'd gotten to know the guy well enough to know that not bringing his lucky item of the day was  _never_  an option.

"I do not own a bicycle." Shin-chan replied drily, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"B-but what kind of healthy Japanese high-schooler doesn't?"

"I would rather walk home than get my fingers calloused by the handlebars or risk an accident that would damage my hands."

Although it kind of made sense when he put it like that, Kazunari still couldn't believe how ridiculous this whole situation was. "And you're gonna' walk home pushing that thing all the way?" he asked, although he kind of knew the answer already.

Shin-chan nodded and began pushing the rickshaw as if to make a point.

Kazunari sighed, not believing what he was about to do. "That thing's got to have something to attach it to a bicycle, right?"

Shin-chan nodded once again, pointing to the front of the cart.

"Your place isn't far from mine, I'll let you borrow my bike so you can take that thing back, and I'll pick it up at your place tomorrow."

Shin-chan cocked his head, his expression saying he was processing his offer. "How would you get back to your house?" he asked, as if verifying he had understood everything.

Kazunari shrugged. "I'll walk. It'll take me less than thirty minutes, it's really not that far away."

Midorima scratched his chin. "The cart is big enough to accommodate one person." He stated matter-of-factly.

"Wha-? Oh, no, don't worry Shin-chan, I could never ask you to pull for me." Kazunari chuckled, waving his hands dismissively.

Once again, Shin-chan looked at him as if he were looking at something unbelievably stupid. Kazunari was certain that's exactly how he looked in Shin-chan's eyes.

"I never offered to do such a thing. In fact, you should be the one pulling, since the bicycle belongs to you."

Kazunari's mouth fell wide open, absolutely not believing what had happened with this conversation. "What?! Are you out of your mind?! It's your stupid lucky item,  _you_  should be the one pulling it!"

"That is absurd, your bicycle is too small for me."

"No it isn't! The seat is adjustable! You'll pull, I'll walk!"

"That is not efficient. We both live in the same neighbourhood, the most practical way for both of us to get home is that you pull the cart."

"Why's it more efficient that I pull? You're bigger, I'm sure you can pedal faster."

"As I already said, I do not wish to risk injuring my hands."

"I'm not gonna be carrying your heavy ass around town, no way! It's your stupid lucky item! Not my fault you're obsessed with that stupid horoscope shit!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Kazunari knew he'd made a mistake. Shin-chan didn't reply, didn't even frown or glare, but Kazunari could tell he was hurt. He turned away with a huff and proceeded to start pushing his cart towards the exit once more, not uttering a single word. Kazunari sighed. He hated himself sometimes.

"Fiiiiiiine!" he groaned in defeat. "Get your ass on that thing, I'll pull you." He said, too embarrassed to look at Shin-chan's eyes. Shin-chan didn't say anything, but Kazunari heard him climbing on the cart. He threw his own schoolbag on the darned thing and pulled his bicycle closer so he could attach the cart behind. Once he was done, he hopped on the bike and glanced backwards briefly. "Ace-sama's got to give me some directions, I don't know where you live." He said, absolutely pissed off at himself for letting things turn this way.

"Turn right at the exit and go straight three blocks." Shin-chan replied, and by his tone, Kazunari knew he was still feeling hurt. He sighed. He  _had_  just said that the one thing in which Shin-chan put all of his trust was stupid shit, of course the guy would be angry and offended. He figured it was about right he did this much to make it up to him.

After a short, quiet ride (even if Shin-chan hadn't been giving him the silent treatment, Takao's lungs were overexherting themselves with the effort of pulling, so he wouldn't have been able to speak if he'd wanted to) they arrived at Shin-chan's house. Kazunari felt unamused. He knew he and Shin-chan lived close by, but not this close by. His own place was literally around the corner. This was ridiculous.

"Your royal carriage has arrived to its destination, Ace-sama." He groaned.

Shin-chan hopped off the cart without speaking a word to him and moved to where it connected to the bike to unattach it. Something twisted painfully in Kazunari's gut. He didn't like getting treated so coldly by Shin-chan. He liked annoying him and getting smacked and called 'idiot' and watching his pale cheeks flush in anger when he called him 'Shin-chan'. He hated to be ignored.

"Oi, Shin-chan?" he called tentatively. Shin-chan didn't respond or turn to look back at him, but he stopped pushing the cart into his driveway. "I'm… I'm sorry… 'bout what I said earlier. I didn't mean it. If… if your lucky items help you shoot those awesome threes I've nothing to complain about. Heck,  _I'll_ help you get them if you need. Just… I'm sorry, I really am." He bit his lip, wondering if Shin-chan would ever forgive him or if his dream of being acknowledged and becoming a useful teammate for their prodigious ace would end before it was even started.

Shin-chan's head turned slightly back, one of his eyes locking with Takao's clear ones, the moonlight reflecting on his emerald iris beautifully.

"I will be taking you up on that offer."

Kazunari's heart swelled. He smiled.

* * *

 

The next morning, he made a point to stop at Shin-chan's house on his way to school, just to tease him a little. Now that he knew where the guy lived, of course he was going to make the most out of it. It was just his luck that Shin-chan happened to be walking out the front door right as he was turning around the corner.

"G'morning Shin-chan! How fancy seeing you here!" he said in a sing-song tone that got him an unamused glare.

"Good morning Takao. Your timing is quite impeccable, I must say."

Kazunari cocked his head, confused. "Timing? For wha-" before he could finish his sentence, he almost choked on his own spit when he saw Shin-chan pulling the rickshaw cart towards the street. "Uhm, Shin-chan? Is that your lucky item for today  _again_?"

Shin-chan huffed and sent him one of those "I can not believe you are this stupid" glares. "Obviously not. But yesterday made me realize that this makes for a very efficient means of transportation." He looked at Takao impatiently. "Move your bicycle so I can attach it. Be quick about it, I do not wish to be late."

"Wait, wait, yesterday was a one-time only, limited edition special deal. I told you I'd help you with your lucky items, if this isn't one, I'm not pulling it and I'm definitely not becoming your personal chauffer."

Shin-chan huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "I suppose that is fair." He said, almost looking dejected. "Very well, we shall decide who will be pulling with janken." He declared, thrusting his left hand forward defiantly. Kazunari wanted to keep objecting, but he realized it was too late to try and escape this. Shin-chan had made up his mind, and if they kept arguing, they'd be late for morning practice. If he was lucky, he could even get Shin-chan to pull him to school. The thought was immensely appealing.

"Alright, I hope you're ready to pedal!"

Over the years, Takao Kazunari would concede to a great amount of Midorima Shintarou's whims and eccentricities, but none would Kazunari regret as much as he would taking Midorima up on that janken challenge.

* * *

 

Being in the same class, staying extra hours for training and driving around town on the rickshaw; after a few weeks, Kazunari realized he was spending more than half of his waking hours with Shin-chan. In that short span of time, he'd gotten himself really well-acquainted with Shin-chan as a person: his quirks and eccentricities, his extremely difficult to identify kindness, his cute tsundere attitude, the things that got him upset in a funny way and the things that hurt him. He could claim that he knew Shin-chan best out of anyone else at school. He wouldn't say they were friends per sé –Shin-chan barely tolerated him, forget about enjoying his company- but he wouldn't say he disliked being around that awkward horoscope maniac either.

Spending so much time with Midorima also made him notice things he wouldn't have otherwise. Namely, all the whispers that surrounded him.

"Hey, have you seen that guy from class 1? Midorima?"

"He's super weird."

"He's always carrying weird shit about."

"The other day I saw him with a pink stuffed rabbit."

"What? That guy? Eew, that's gross!"

"He's so weird but he thinks he's better than anyone, how annoying."

"I heard not even the guys from the team like him."

"Someone from the second string says they only put up with him because he's kinda good."

"What's his problem, he should just fuck off."

Takao didn't know how he'd never noticed them before, but the whispers grew louder and louder with each day. Takao felt sick every time he heard them.

"Shin-chan, you should report it to the teachers, this isn't right." He suggested once, as they passed a group of third years that weren't even trying to speak quietly.

Shin-chan didn't even turn to look at him or stop in his tracks. "Don't concern yourself with that. They will get tired if I ignore them."

"But Shin-chan…"

"Besides, they will stop after the Inter-High. They always do. We will undoubtedly win the Inter-High, and then people will stop caring about it because our victory will be more important."

Kazunari didn't like the sound of that 'they always do' thing. He chewed on his lip and tried to insist, but Midorima cut him off every time, so he eventually gave up. He'd never been bullied, so he didn't know how that was. Maybe Shin-chan was right, maybe reacting and making a fuss would only make their harassment more vicious. If Shin-chan said it would be fine…

No matter how hard he tried to convince himself about it, the thought alone made his stomach twist.

* * *

 

Takao got reminded of how insufferable Midorima could be at the height of their game against Seirin. And he also got reminded of how awkward and frail he was when they lost.

"C'mon, Shin-chan. I'll treat you to dinner. We don't even have to do janken, I'll pull."

Shin-chan didn't reply or even look at him. Kazunari was okay with that. He wasn't okay with the tears running down Shin-chan's cheeks, but he didn't say anything about them.

* * *

 

It didn't stop after the Inter-High. In fact it got a lot worse.

"Wasn't that freak supposed to be some prodigy? How come we lost in the prelims?"

"He's a total fake."

"They should kick him out of the team."

"He acts all high and mighty but couldn't even win against some unknown school."

They didn't stop with whispers though. One morning, Shin-chan's shoe locker was filled with trash. Another time, his desk had gotten the word "Fake" carved on the wood. Kazunari noticed that Shin-chan would now regularly check his shoes before putting them on to make sure there were no needles or tacks in them. That dreadful feeling he'd gotten before returned, and it was worse than ever.

"Shin-chan this has gotten too far, you have to tell the teachers!"

"No need to do that, I already told you. The Inter-High was an unfortunate miscalculation, but we will get revenge during the Winter Cup."

"Shin-chan, the Winter Cup is in THREE MONTHS! Are you just gonna take all this crap for three more months?"

"I am already used to it."

Takao's heart sank in his chest.

* * *

 

Kazunari reached his breaking point when he ran into one of his old classmates from middle school in the cafeteria.

"Hey Takao, you're always with that guy Midorima these days, we barely see you anymore."

"Well, yeah, Shin-chan is—"

"Isn't he a total freak? Everyone says so. How do you even hang out with him? He's not even that good at basketball yet he's so full of it? I've heard they're gonna kick him out of the team because he turned out to be a fraud."

Kazunari bit his lip and had to hold his fists tight to keep from swinging a punch at the guy.

"Do you know how long a basketball court is?"

"Huh?"

"Twenty-eight meters. That's the distance from one side of the court to the other one. That guy, that according to you is 'not really that good' can shoot a ball through twenty-eight meters of court and sink it perfectly every-single-time. The average accuracy of the best Shooting Guards in the NBA is barely around 50%, throwing from the three-point line that's barely seven meters away from the basket. That guy that's 'not really that good' has twice as much accuracy throwing from up to four times that distance. So stop running your stupid mouth and talking shit because you don't know a damn thing. If you'd seen him play you wouldn't talk crap because you'd know that he's more than good enough, he's fucking  _amazing_."

That guy –whose name Takao couldn't remember- cocked his head and frowned. "Oi, oi, what's up with that Takao? Why're you defending that freak?" he paused. "Could it be…? Oh man, I never thought you'd be like that too, that's disgusting."

Kazunari clenched his teeth, trying to convince himself that it was not worth getting kicked out of the team just to give this piece of shit the shiner he surely deserved.

"Get-fucking-lost." He hissed, not caring anymore. The guy shrugged and turned away, and as he walked outside, he started snickering and whispering something to the other guys that had come with him.

Shin-chan showed up at that precise instant carrying a tray of food and frowned at him. "Stay out of this." He said curtly and placed Takao's portion of the meal on the table before walking off. Kazunari couldn't have cared less about food at that point.

"I can't just stay out of it, it's getting out of control! You can't seriously mean to let them get away with all this shit until the Winter Cup! Guys like those will use any excuse, even if we win they'll find something else to attack you!"

They left the cafeteria, their trays of food long forgotten. Shin-chan was walking fast, which made it hard for Kazunari to keep up with him.

"I appreciate your concern, but you should not get involved any further."

Kazunari clenched his teeth again. "Why shouldn't I? Aren't we friends? I just can't let this keep going, you shouldn't have to take all that crap!"

"I said stay out of this."

"I can't! If you won't tell the teachers, _I_  will!"

"You will not do such thing!"

"Why not?!"

"They will start targeting you too!"

Kazunari's breath escaped his body all at once, and his throat was tied in a tight knot. So all this time, Shin-chan was trying to protect him? Shin-chan, who'd been taking all forms of abuse and harassment for the last two months was concerned about  _him_? Kazunari felt tears prickling the corners of his eyes. But when he opened his mouth to tell Shin-chan how much of an idiot he was, he heard a new whisper.

"Hey, isn't that Midorima? What're they yelling about?"

"Beats me, the shorty's probably pissed that guy turned out to be a fraud."

"So lame."

"Y'know there's this guy from Teikou in my class that says he knew Midorima before."

"And?"

"He says no one at Teikou liked him either."

"That's obvious, he's a total freak."

"Yeah, but that's not it. He says everyone at Teikou knew about it. That Midorima was  _one of those_."

"A what?"

"Y'know…  _a homo_."

"What, really? Woah, that's totally gross!"

Kazunari was done with this. He no longer cared if he got kicked out of the team, or the school for that matter. He would not allow any more of this shit, not a single word. He turned to look at the source of the whispers, two guys and a girl from second year. One of the guys was in the judo team, he knew. He was gonna get the crap beat out of him. He didn't care. He snarled at them, his eyes ablaze with ire and stomped in their direction, his fist held up high.

Before he could reach them, Shin-chan grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him away. Kazunari struggled, tried with all his might to yank his hand free, but to no avail.

"LET GO OF ME!" he roared, kicking the ground angrily.

"I SAID STAY OUT OF IT!" Shin-chan finally roared back once they were at the opposite side of the school.

"But they… those people… you can't just let them…" the tears from earlier came back with a vengeance, and he wasn't sure if they were angry tears or sad tears or frustrated tears or all at once.

"It doesn't bother me." Shin-chan's grip on his wrist finally loosened a little, but without letting go.

"How can it not bother you? They're—"

"Because it's true." Shin-chan bit his lip and looked away remorsefully. "I am… homosexual. I… That is why I told you not to get involved. They will start saying the same thing about you so—"

"Let them, see if I fucking care." Kazunari grabbed Shin-chan's wrist with his free hand. "I'm your  _friend_! D'you really think I'm just gonna stay quiet and let people talk trash about you just so they don't think I'm gay?  **I AM YOUR FRIEND**! And if you're gay or I'm gay it's none of their fucking business and they don't have the right to judge you or say shit about you! Stop trying to protect me when you're the one going that's taking all the crap!"

Shin-chan's hand trembled slightly. Kazunari looked up and saw a small stray tear running down Shin-chan's cheek and his beautiful emerald eyes shining with gratitude. They didn't say another word.

* * *

 

Kazunari would've liked to talk Shin-chan into reporting the issue with the teachers, but the endeavor proved fruitless, and before he knew it, they were on their way to training camp. Deciding he should make the most out of it, he thought it would be a good opportunity to help get Shin-chan more relaxed and ease him into the idea of asking for help, and also finding who in the team was spreading all those nasty rumors. Because there had to be someone in the team spouting things like "no one actually likes him" or "he's not even that good", otherwise such rumors wouldn't have spread over the school.

One night, Kazunari ran into Kuroko right as he was spying on Shin-chan, who had somehow ended playing one-on-ones with Kagami, while totally dominating. He had to hold back the urge to cheer with pride, he reminded himself he was trying to conceal his presence. Kuroko had appeared out of the blue, and Kazunari had spontaneously decided to hide him too, he didn't want anyone interrupting Shin-chan's bizarre passive-aggressive bonding with Kagami.

"Midorima-kun has changed." Kuroko said suddenly, startling Takao.

"Really? I think his tsundere level has not changed at all since I met him." Kazunari replied with a cheeky grin.

Kuroko smiled lightly. "I think having a good friend like Takao-kun is very good for him."

Takao swallowed whatever funny response he had prepared and felt his cheeks heat up.

"Ahahaha? No way! He didn't even listen to me until we lost to you guys. Losing's what's been good for him. Not that we intend to let it happen again of course."

Kuroko glanced at him knowingly, as if he knew something that Takao was completely ignorant to, but didn't say anything else. Barely a minute later, they were found out by a very annoyed Shin-chan, who dragged him back to the inn and into the public bath lockers, awfully embarrassed at being caught helping the "enemy".

"Awww, c'mon Shin-chan, it was very cute that you helped Kagami out. We still won't lose."

"Of course we won't, fool." Shin-chan replied, the vein on his forehead throbbing as he stripped down, his chiseled pecs, strong hips and toned thighs coming into view. "What are you staring at?" he asked suddenly, making Takao realize that his eyes had been fixed on the dip of Shin-chan's hipbones for the past ten million years or so. His cheeks grew hot again, but he blamed it on the bath vapors as he took off his boxers and draped a towel over his shoulders. When he turned around, his eyes found a pair of shining emeralds, for the first time not shielded by crystal lenses.

"Hey Shin-chan, how bad is your vision?" Kazunari suddenly asked, in lieu of a more honest remark about how this was the first time he saw Shin-chan without his glasses, which he found utterly fascinating.

Shin-chan looked away and started towards the bath, hanging the towel from its rightful place before sitting on a stool and grabbing the corresponding showerhead.

"Far from ideal." He responded vaguely as he poured water on his back and over his head, the liquid leaking down the back of his head, to his neck and in between his shoulder blades. Takao found his eyes fixed on that spot as he absentmindedly mimicked the motions.

"So like… right now can you see my face?"

Shin-chan turned around, his wet green hair was sticking to his forehead and cheeks. "I do not need to see your face in detail to know you have a very stupid expression on." He said, glaring, and, Takao noticed, squinting. They were barely a meter apart. He had to swallow some chuckles.

"So mean, Shin-chan." He whined, and watched Shin-chan stand up and walk into the bath. He followed suit shortly after.

They sat slightly apart, although not completely opposite from each other. Kazunari closed his eyes and leaned on the edge of the bath, letting the warm water and the vapors cloud his senses.

"Takao." He heard Shin-chan's voice cut through his relaxed state of mind. He sounded nervous.

"Mmm-hmm?" he hummed, not even opening his eyes.

"I wanted to let you know… that I… I appreciate… I am grateful… You have been very… I am aware that you have been… trying to find out who started the rumors. I appreciate your intentions but…"

Kazunari whipped his head and cracked one eye open to glare at Shin-chan. "Shin-chan, if you even think of saying that I shouldn't get involved in this, swallow it. I don't care. I already told you I'm your friend and I'm not gonna let some loser talk shit about you."

Shin-chan looked conflicted. "It is a very kind and noble thing, but you should not get in trouble with the team for this. You could jeopardize your position in the team. Your love for me is obviously clouding your good judgment, I ask you that you stay away from this."

"And I already told you that's not gonna' happen, if you won't let me talk to the teachers, then I'm gonna' fight the problem from its origins and that's final."

A thick silence hung over their heads. Kazunari felt there was something odd about Shin-chan's last statement, but he wasn't sure of what it was, so he went over it in his head trying to figure it out.

"Wait, who's in love with you?"

"You are."

Takao almost slipped in the bath and accidentally swallowed some of the water in his effort to keep himself sitting. He coughed loudly.

"W-w-w-what?! Where'd you even get that idea?!"

"It took me some time to realize it, but it became very clear recently. Even I am not oblivious to the fact that I am not a pleasant person to be around, yet you are always clinging to me. Even when I rebuff you or treat you poorly."

"W-w-well yeah, Shin-chan's a handful, but every time you're being mean I know it's just your tsuntsun taking over and that in reality you actually totally love me."

Another thick silence hung over them. It took Takao about a full minute to process what he'd just said.

"Where did you even get such an absurd notion?" Shin-chan said finally, his cheeks painted a pretty red.

"C'mon, I'm a total pain in the ass, you say so all the time and you still let me hang around all day! That's the textbook definition of a tsundere! And I'm literally the only person you actually talk to outside from practice!"

Truth be told, the notion that Shin-chan might be in love with him had never really crossed his mind, but at this precise instant he felt as convinced about it as he was about his own name. It made a lot of sense, right? He was literally the only person allowed in Shin-chan's personal space. And Shin-chan often got him his lucky items if Scorpio had a bad luck day. And Shin-chan let him call him 'Shin-chan' even if he hated it.

"Nonsense, you are the one in love with me, not the other way around."

"Are you an idiot? It's totally obvious that you love me!"

They both huffed indignantly and turned away from each other. Takao's face was burning. Him? In love with Shin-chan? Ridiculous! Shin-chan was his precious friend and his cute tsundere Ace-sama and his tyrannical slave-driver, nothing else! That he had the prettiest eyes in the prefecture with the longest eyelashes and some really nice (recently discovered) shoulder blades was just a nice bonus.

"Anyway!" Takao huffed again. "Even if I did love you _, which I don't_ , it's not like we could go out or anything."

"Absolutely. You seem to enjoy a wide range of extremely banal activities."

"Wha-?! If it were up to you we'd do nothing but go shopping for lucky items every time!"

They huffed again. Takao wasn't even sure of why he was so riled up about this. This was such a stupid argument and he didn't even understand how they'd gotten here, but now he felt equally annoyed at Shin-chan implying he'd be a shitty boyfriend and frustrated that Shin-chan wouldn't admit he had feelings for him.

"You're probably a terrible kisser too!"

"And I suppose you are a certified expert on the subject?"

"As a matter of fact, I happen to be very good at it! Not that you'd know since we probably don't have any chemistry anyway."

"So that would be your excuse for your lack of expertise and proficiency, I presume?"

"Hah? Are you challenging me?"

"Challenging you? To what? Kiss me? Why would I do such a thing? It is clear you are just fishing for an excuse to act upon your feelings, why do you keep denying them?"

"Sounds to me like  _you_  want an excuse to force me to kiss you!"

"Nonsense, we would probably not have any sort of chemistry whatsoever, it could only become an unpleasant experience."

"Right!"

Kazunari turned to look at Shin-chan, his eyes on fire, and in one smooth movement he breached the distance between their bodies, cupped Shin-chan's face with his hands and planted a kiss on his lips. It was a terrible, terrible kiss. Shin-chan obviously had never kissed anyone before. But Takao had and he'd leave Shin-chan so breatheless with his skills, and then he'd have no choice but to finally admit his feelings. Takao didn't even stop to wonder why he wanted Shin-chan to admit his feelings, but it felt like something extremely important right now.

The kiss ended quickly, more an awkward bump of faces than anything else. Kazunari's breathe was ragged and loud, his hands still cupping Shin-chan's cheeks. He looked up and found Shin-chan's eyes glazed over, his skin glistening with droplets of condensed vapor, his skin blossoming a beautiful red color. He wondered briefly if Shin-chan could see his face from this close.

"See? No chemistry."

"Indeed, none at all."

Shin-chan's left hand rose to touch Kazunari's cheek lightly, brushing a drop of water away with his thumb. It was untaped, Kazunari noted, and the skin of his shooting fingers was soft yet calloused.

"You're totally a terrible kisser."

"I am not really impressed by your skills either."

Their lips met once again, and this time they seemed to fit into each other rather nicely. Shin-chan's thumb caressed his skin and Kazunari found himself winding his arms around Shin-chan's neck, burying his fingers into the wet hair at the back of his head and pulling him closer. He parted his lips slightly and allowed his tongue out to lick Shin-chan's mouth softly before pulling away again. His chest was pressed against Shin-chan's and he could feel the thundering of Shin-chan's heart against his own. His face was burning, he couldn't bring himself to face Shin-chan now. Not when that kiss had totally stolen his breathe away.

"Takao?"

His heart skipped a beat. How had things come to this?

"Yeah?"

Silence took over for another full minute. Takao was still too ashamed to even try to meet Shin-chan's eyes.

"Would you… would you not give me at least one chance? Even if you… don't have feelings for me… and even if I am not an…  _ideal_  partner… just once I…"

Kazunari finally looked up to find Shin-chan covering his mouth with one hand, his cheeks now so red he could've very well be running a high fever. It all finally clicked in Takao's head. The weird nervousness, the sudden change of topic, the insecurity in his eyes and the tenderness of his touch… he should've noticed sooner.

"Shin-chan, did you just confess to me?"

Shin-chan's eyes widened briefly and he looked down, trying to hide his blushing face from view.

"If… If it makes you uncomfortable…"

Kazunari moved his hands to cup Shin-chan's cheeks once more (and he realized his arms had been tangled around Shin-chan's neck ever since their second kiss and until now), and pulled him in closer, pressing their foreheads against each other.

"Shin-chan you dummy, look at my face, do you really think I'm feeling uncomfortable?" he asked with a light chuckle. Shin-chan blinked rapidly, his eyelashes tickling Takao's cheeks.

"I can't see your face, you fool, you are too close!"

Takao laughed and pressed his lips to Shin-chan's for the third time. He really had no clue of how they'd gotten here or what had just happened, but he couldn't say he was not happy with how it had turned out.

* * *

 

When they got back to school, the whispers had gotten louder.

"Hey look, it's that guy Midorima, the freaky homo from the basketball team."

"See that short guy that's always with him? Rumor has it they were doing all kinds of nasty homo stuff during the training camp."

"Eeeewww, how's that even work?"

Kazunari's blood boiled. He couldn't care less about what people said of him, but he couldn't stand that they talked shit about Shin-chan, especially since it obviously hurt him a lot more than he let on.

"Takao I am so—"

He cut him off with a kiss to the corner of his mouth. The whisperers gasped. He grabbed Shin-chan's hand and laced their fingers together, and he continued walking as if nothing had happened, pulling Shin-chan along with him.

"Let them talk." He said finally, his ears red with anger. "So what if we're together? We're happy right? Shitheads like them could only dream of being as happy as we are."

Shin-chan blushed and squeezed Takao's hand.

* * *

 

Two weeks before the Winter Cup preliminaries, Takao finally convinced Shin-chan to talk to Ootsubo-senpai about the whispers.

"So you think all those nasty rumors are coming from someone in the team?" he asked, looking shocked and disappointed.

"I'm certain about it. Almost all of the rumors are said to come from "people in the team", but I think it's only one person spreading shit around. I think it's someone that's bitter that Shin-chan got a free ticket to the starting lineup." Kazunari explained. He didn't say it, but the fact that the nature of their relationship had become known so quickly could only mean someone had seen them during the training camp, and only members of the team had been there.

"Alright, I'll look into it. You should've let me know sooner, I'm really sorry this has been happening under my very nose all this time. I can guarantee that whoever's responsible will face severe consequences. We don't need that kind of person in our team."

Shin-chan nodded quietly. He hadn't been saying an awful lot, letting Takao take the reins of this conversation and just occasionally nodding or humming in agreement. It made Takao remember that Shin-chan actually said "he was used to this", and he wondered for how many years he'd been quietly taking all manners of bullying and how come no one had helped him before. Had Shin-chan had anyone he could rely on when he was in Teikou? He wished he'd gone to Teikou, just so he could've met Shin-chan before, be by his side, protect him from all the horrible things people said about him. His fingers twitched. He wanted to hold Shin-chan's hand and hug him, but he knew Shin-chan wanted to keep their relationship as private as possible. Not secret, that would be impossible after that little number he'd pulled on the hallways, but he didn't want to boast it for the world to know. Kazunari agreed that was for the best.

* * *

 

Three days before the Winter Cup preliminaries began, Kazunari was walking towards the rooftop where he'd have lunch with Shin-chan when he heard a group chattering noisily in the hall.

"Nobu-kun, won't you be playing in the Winter Cup?" a girl asked, sounding disappointed.

"How come? You said you'd be the starting Shooting Guard when Masa-senpai graduated!"

Takao wanted to slap himself. Of course! How had he not thought of it before? He'd always wondered why was Shin-chan the target for the rumors. If it was a spiteful second or third year that had hoped to become a starter and had had their hopes thwarted by a first year, it would've made a lot more sense to target Takao, who was definitely not a gifted prodigy and had earned his starting position by a very small margin. Unless the spiteful person was a Shooting Guard who felt Shin-chan had stolen their position. A Shooting Guard just like Takenishi Nobuhiko.

"I was supposed to, but that freak from Teikou came in."

"Eeeeeh? But is he really that good? He's just a first year!"

"Naaah, he's a total fraud, you should've seen him against that new school Seirin, it was pathetic. I'm pretty sure he bought the position, his family's rich and all."

Takao's blood boiled.

"So you're the one talking shit about Shin-chan…" he hissed, his fists clenched tight.

"Hm? Ah, you're Midorima's bitch, aren't you? What was your name again?"

He tried to go over the thousand and one reasons Shin-chan had given him to hold back his urge to beat someone into a pulp, but for some reason he couldn't remember a single one of them.

"I don't care what you say about me, but I won't forgive you for all the crap you've put Shin-chan through."

Takenishi shrugged and smirked defiantly. "I'm just telling the truth, everyone's too blinded by that guy's 'Generation of Miracles' bullshit to see that he's not that big a deal."

"Shin-chan earned his position in the team justly, like everyone else. So you weren't good enough to face him on court and decided to use underhanded tactics to hurt him. You're a fucking coward!"

The group started dissolving and Takenishi got up from where he was sitting to grab the front of Takao's shirt menacingly.

"Care to say that again?"

Takao wasn't intimidated. He grabbed Takenishi's wrist forcefully, his clear eyes dripping fury and venom.

"I said only a coward would resort to spread fake rumors to get back at someone they couldn't beat in a fair game." He sneered. He wasn't even finished speaking when he felt the punch connect with his jaw. He winced in pain.

"Huh, what a shame, I wonder if a guy that gets involved in a fistfight will be allowed to represent the school in the Winter Cup." Takenishi spat out with a satisfied smirk. Takao decided it was about time he gave that piece of shit a new face and threw a punch straight to the guy's nose.

"If you think I care more about my position than I do about Shin-chan you're in for a  _big_  surprise!"

* * *

 

Kazunari winced in pain.

"I can not believe you." Shin-chan said remorsefully as he finished cleaning up the cut on Takao's lower lip. "Why would you do that? I asked you multiple times to stay out of this. What will you do if they expel you from the team?" he asked, regret and pain in his voice.

"I'm sorry Shin-chan, I just couldn't stand there and watch that guy slander you anymore. Now that we know who did it, I'm sure Coach and Ootsubo-senpai will take some measures, and then all those shitty rumors will disappear soon. Getting kicked out of the team seems like a small price to pay in comparison."

"It's not small at all, you idiot!" Shin-chan snapped as he finished pressing a band-aid to his chin. "This is exactly why I told you not to get involved."

Kazunari smiled (which hurt like hell) and gently stroked Shin-chan's cheek. "It's okay Shin-chan, it'll work out. I'm already happy that you're so worried about me."

Shin-chan looked like he wanted to reply, but before he could do it, Ootsubo-senpai walked into the infirmary, followed by the Coach.

"Midorima, could you wait outside please? We need to have a word with Takao."

Shin-chan tensed up, his hands shaking slightly. "Captain, please don't punish Takao for this, this whole incident was my fault. Please do not expel him from the team. Y-you can count it as all of my selfish requests for the rest of the school year, just…"

Ootsubo-senpai chuckled and waved his hands dismissively. "Calm down Midorima, you don't need to use your selfish requests for that, we're not kicking out our best Point Guard." The tension in Shin-chan's shoulders visibly relaxed, and Takao felt his belly grow warm just from knowing how much Shin-chan cared about him. It was also kind of nice to be acknowledged as the team's best Point Guard. He briefly worried his ego would get out of control after this. "The Coach talked with the headmaster and told him about the whole situation, he was very understanding. You still have to face some manner of consequences though."

Coach Nakatani sighed. "It was decided that you would be suspended from school for the rest of the week. You will be allowed to play in the prelims, but only half of each game. We'll have you in for our game against Seirin, since your cooperation with Midorima will be essential against their #10 and 11, but the other two games we'll have you sit out the first and third quarters."

Kazunari cocked his head, that was a lot more lenient than he'd expected, considering he'd pretty much given that dude a literally new face. "Thanks, sir, that sounds fair to me. But what about that bastard Takenishi?"

The Coach frowned at his choice of language. "He's being suspended for three weeks and expelled from the team. He's also forbidden from joining any other club until the end of the school year. Me and the headmaster will be speaking with his family to fill them in on what happened. If any more incidents regarding these rumors arise, you should come to me immediately, not try to fix it on your own." he sentenced with finality.

Kazunari nodded, trying to hold back a satisfied smirk

"Take care of those wounds, we'll need you at the top of your game." Ootsubo-senpai said before they both exited the room.

Shin-chan was quiet for a minute, but he looked relieved and relaxed, the look on his eyes was soft.

"See?" Kazunari whispered, leaning his forehead on Shin-chan's shoulder. "Told you it would all work out."

"That was only because I took the precaution of giving you your lucky item this morning. Oha Asa predicted conflicts and complications for Scorpio today."

Kazunari pointed at his forehead and the green headband with a koala pattern, a wide grin growing on his lips, his multiple bruises stinging.

"Of course! Totally saved my life! I trusted that the lucky item I got from Shin-chan would work, so I wasn't worried."

The corners of Shin-chan's lips tilted upwards softly. Kazunari smiled fondly too. Shin-chan was truly beautiful.

"You better not lose while I'm not on court, huh?"

Shin-chan's soft smile grew smug. "The mere notion is preposterous."

Kazunari snickered and leaned forward to press a kiss on Shin-chan's lips.

* * *

 

With Takenishi's cowardly scheme outed and their outstanding performance in the Winter Cup, most of the rumors started to dissipate. Not all of them, and not completely, but the whispers became quieter and quieter. After everyone saw how amazing Shin-chan truly was, no one dared say he'd bought his position or that he was a fraud. There was no more trash being shoved into Shin-chan's shoe locker, nor ugly hateful notes carved on his desk. There were still some people who would point at him and make disgusted faces while making crude comments about his sexuality, and although Takao insisted he should confront them, Shin-chan refused.

"It's true anyway. Nothing I say will make them stop thinking that what I am is somehow wrong."

Kazunari wasn't satisfied with that explanation. Shin-chan shouldn't have to accept people's bigotry.

"Let them talk." Shin-chan continued, casually lacing their hands together and squeezing lightly. "You said so before, correct? They can say whatever they want, it will not change the fact that I am happy now."

Kazunari blushed. Shin-chan wasn't smiling, but his beautiful eyes were.

"That  _we_  are happy." He corrected, bringing Shin-chan's bandaged finger up to his mouth to place a light kiss on his knuckles. Shin-chan nodded, his lips curling into one of his rare, loving smiles.

"That is all that matters to me now."

**Author's Note:**

> This is ridiculous, I have no idea of what this story was even about, it just sorta happened. It wasn’t supposed to be this long. Is it even a story? It’s a mish-mash of a lot of my fave MidoTaka headcanons, including Takao’s intense devotion to Shin-chan as a friend, Shin-chan being bullied and Takao standing up for him, and Shin-chan casually dropping a tsundere love confession whilst bickering. And awkward first kisses and awkward everything and stupid arguing. And Kazu bae being completely mermerized by Shin-chan’s beautiful eyes.  
> Anyway, I wrote this for TakaMido day, hope you like it even if it’s weird as fuck. Please send me comments and let me know what you thing about it.


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